Rosanne Cash Unveils “Nashville 2.0”

Plays intimate show at screening of new Americana music documentary.

Megan Walsh-Boyle | Published: Aug 07, 2013

photos by Rahoul Ghose/PBS

CW caught up with Rosanne Cash at the Summer Press Tour in Los Angeles, where she appeared in support of the PBS documentary Nashville 2.0. The music-filled hour-long film co-directed by Carol Stein and Susan Wittenberg (the duo behind 2011‘s Women Who Rock) holds a very dear place in Cash’s heart: It’s about the tradition of Americana, one that she’s deeply rooted in, and its presence in the Nashville music scene.

The “Seven Year Ache” singer is featured in the doc, along with some of her favorite young artists, including The Civil Wars, The Mavericks and Alabama Shakes, as well as Emmylou Harris, whom Cash calls the “queen” of the genre and cites as an influence. “It’s about storytelling and the craft of writing songs with an arc,” says the eldest daughter of the Man in Black. “It isn’t an assaulting experience. It’s not about being loud for loudness' sake.”

She hopes people will watch and realize it’s something they are already listening to and enjoying. “They will be like, `Hey, I like that music. I must like Americana,’” she noted. During an intimate concert for television critics, Cash gave the audience a taste of Americana’s diverse flavors, performing both classics (“Ode to Billie Joe,” “Long Black Veil”) and crowd favorites from her own catalog (“Blue Moon With Heartache,” “Black Cadillac”).

She also offered a sneak peek at her upcoming album, which she announced will be released on Jan. 14, 2014. It was penned by Cash and her husband, John Leventhal (who accompanied his wife on acoustic guitar at the PBS performance), and was inspired by a series of trips the New York residents made to the South. If it’s all as good as the rocking “Modern Blue,” then listeners are in for a real treat.